Pressure Canning Revisited

Why blanch vegetables before freezing? Blanching vegetables before freezing is critical to quality, but not safety. Blanching is scalding vegetables in boiling water or steam for a short time. It is typically followed by quick, thorough cooling in very cold or ice water. Blanching stops enzyme actions which otherwise cause a loss of flavor, color, and texture. In addition, blanching removes some surface dirt and microorganisms, brightens color, and helps slow vitamin losses. It also wilts greens, softens some vegetables, such as broccoli and asparagus, and makes them easier to pack. It is critical to use the correct blanching time for the size and type of vegetable (see table below). Under-blanching stimulates enzyme activity and is worse than not blanching. Over-blanching leads to partial cooking and causes loss of flavor, color, vitamins, and minerals.

Home canning season is just around the corner. Having equipment ready and recipes selected before fresh produce is available will allow a smooth transition to a busy time of year. Only choose recipes that have been developed specifically for the canning method you are using. Safe canning methods include the boiling water bath method, the atmospheric steam canner method, and the pressure canner method. Recipes should only come from research-based sources like the USDA, the National Center for Home Food Preservation, and Extension sources and should include the ingredients, preparation instructions, and processing times.

It is the time of year to start thinking about home food preservation projects for the spring and summer. If you plan to use a pressure canner for safely preserving low acid foods like vegetables or meats, consider scheduling a canner inspection soon. For dial gauge pressure canners, the gauge should be checked for accuracy annually. The gauge should also be checked if it has been dropped, soaked in water, or shows any other signs of damage. If the gauge is off more than 2 pounds at the pressure used for your altitude, replace it. Make pressure adjustments for the difference up to 2 pounds. Food Systems and Safety Agents commonly perform these tests in their office. At this time, our offices are closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Until we are able to see you in person, canner dial gauges can be tested by Presto®.

Adapted from:  So Easy to Preserve, 6th ed., p. 151

2 pounds cranberries 3 green apples, cored, peeled, chopped 1 orange, seeded and chopped 3 cups sugar 2 cups water ½ cup honey

On a recent walk through the neighborhood with our family dog, it was apparent that fall was in full swing. Except for the evergreens, fewer trees have a full canopy of green leaves. Deciduous tree leaves are transitioning in color from green to yellow, orange, red, and purple hues as temperatures decrease and day lengths shorten. The changing color of leaves is a spectacular event most years. However, nothing announces the arrival of autumn like leaves raining down from trees to scatter across the landscape. This serves as a reminder that fallen leaves are a free, valuable, and often underused natural resource.

The major reason we recommend Mason-type canning jars is our experience with them and their decreased rate of breakage compared to mayonnaise jars, salad dressing jars, spaghetti sauce jars, or other jars not intended for canning. Home food preservation experts have worked with various types of canning jars, and their experience is reflected in the following long quote from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

The canning lid lifter/lid wand is a magnet attached to a short plastic stick and is a useful tool for lifting metal lids from hot water. Lid wand brands include Back to Basics, Ball, Harold, Norpro, Presto, RSVP, and Victorio. For several years lid wands have been available online and in-store from vendors that sell canning supplies (including kitchen supply stores, hardware stores, department stores, and big box stores).

Although botulism is most often associated with improperly home canned foods, improperly stored commercial or home-preserved products have the potential for causing botulism. Botulism is caused by a potent toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. Symptoms of botulism include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness. If untreated, symptoms will progress to paralysis and death. In foodborne botulism, symptoms usually begin 18 to 36 hours after eating contaminated food but can occur after 6 hours and as late as 10 days.

You can win one of two, three-book sets that I’ve purchased to share as prizes—no, not my old food-splattered copies, above, but new ones. Promise! All you have to do to have a chance in the truly random drawing (I’ll use the tool at random [dot] org to pick a winner) is comment below, and be a subscriber to my email newsletter. All the details are at the end of this post.Your comment should simply tell us what you like to put up for later from your garden or the farmer’s market—and it can be as simple as a sentence or include a recipe or a link to one; up to you.Tips and Tricks:Immediate ideas and tips on coping with the harvest can be had from these articles:What’s in My Freezer at Harvest Time: a Roundup of Ideas Making Pesto: Garlicky Green Ice Cubes Growing and Storing a Year of Parsley (good for many other green herbs, too) Dan Koshansky’s Hand-Me-Down Refrigerator Pickles Vegetable Curry-in-a-Hurry ‘Love Apple

AS I PLANT MY PARSLEY, PICK ASPARAGUS and get ready for tomato transplant time, it gets me thinking about tomorrow (as in “the offseason”) when my Northern garden doesn’t offer up so much food as it will the next few months. No worry, because I am a hoarder—of fresh garden and farmer’s-market produce (though not on sagging shelves like that 1940 Farm Security Administration slide, above!).

D O THE ‘ORNAMENTAL’ PLANTS HAVE A CRUEL CASTE SYSTEM like some people do; do they really notice when “weeds” move in among them or is every plant born equal? I wonder. So, apparently, does Andre Jordan the doodler; or at least he wonders what the human neighbors will think if we’ve slacked a bit, if not literally wondering what’s on the minds of the intended garden plants.